Whitehall Revolution to Increase Efficiency

The Evening Standard has reported that a permanent Whitehall revolution, devised by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude and Sir Bob Kerslake, the new head of the Civil Service, will see thousands of civil servants working from home or on flexible hours.

The Olympics will be the catalyst for a radical drive towards a “more corporate” Civil Service, with video conferencing replacing many face-to-face meetings to increase efficiency and ease pressure on the transport system.

Another key way to increase efficiency is to convert from the traditional use of tape recorders and transcribers to a digital dictation solution. Digital dictation enables civil servants to locate recorders more easily, share transcriptions with colleagues and increases the security of the recordings.

In the case of mobile working, civil servants would be able to integrate phones such as the BlackBerry and iPhone, resulting in the ability to dictate documents remotely.

For more information on digital dictation visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk 

IT Industry Consulted on NHS IT Policy

The British Journal of Healthcare Computing has reported on the Department of Health Informatics Directorate (DHID) publishing a report alongside IT industry trade body Intellect: A joint plan to foster a healthy and vibrant healthcare IT market.

The aim of the plan is to develop this market in England for the “benefit of NHS organisations, the IT supplier community and patients and public alike”. It is part of a series of initiatives to support the supplier community and improve local NHS decision making in acquiring new IT systems.

Several key initiatives have been identified as part of the joint plan, the most prominent of which is the long-awaited information strategy for the NHS. Other key initiatives include the Informed Client, which aims to educate NHS management and healthcare professionals about the benefits of IT so there is a “pull” for technology from within the NHS rather than a push from industry. A joint communications initiative will inform the NHS of agreed areas for working together.

Public Sector Must Be Radical and Bold

The Huffington Post UK has reported on using the phrase ‘more for less’ when talking about the future of public services, revealing that we should no longer use the phrase.

The truth is that government expenditure targets cannot possibly be met simply by making budget adjustments or through ‘efficiency savings’. Every pound spent inefficiently and/or ineffectively is a pound no longer available to finance a critical activity or service, and there are always opportunities to be more efficient. However, most of the traditional options for reducing costs are no longer sufficient. The public sector needs to be radical and bold in order to make the necessary changes to become more effective.

One way to make radical changes is to update the existing outdated technology and embrace more efficient and effective solutions.

Both digital dictation and speech recognition can make a real difference to delivering improved public sector services – increasing efficiency and productivity, while delivering a return on investment within a matter of months, assisting with the savings that need to be made throughout the sector.

For more information on digital dictation and speech recognition visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk  

NHS Efficiency Could Be Assisted by Services Provided at Home

According to the body representing health service trusts, the NHS in England must end the “hospital-or-bust” attitude to medical care, with the BBC reporting that at least one in four patients would be better off being treated by NHS staff at home.

Mike Farrar, head of the NHS Confederation revealed that 2012 will be a key year for the NHS as it tries to make £20 billion in efficiency savings by 2015 and treating patients at home could further assist NHS trusts to meet the targets set by government.

As well as treating patients at home, another way that can assist the NHS to meet efficiency savings is to integrate digital dictation and speech recognition into administrative procedures.  Our Clinical Document Production application, WinVoicePro, has been developed to support the health service in solving money and time issues and enabling the NHS to achieve realistic savings, without impacting on frontline services.

For more information on our digital dictation and speech recognition products visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

£2.5B funding boost for NHS in 2012-13

The NHS is to get a funding boost of over £2.5 billion to provide services to patients in 2012-13,  as reported in the PharmaTimes.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “We are continuing to meet our commitment to increase the NHS budget in real terms. This will mean a £2.5 billion increase next year.” However, he added, that while the extra investment will give PCTs a strong platform to sustain and improve services for patients, “the NHS must still strive to get the best value out of every penny it spends to meet rising demand and continue to improve results for patients”.

To further improve services to patients and help the NHS make efficiency savings, integrating the latest technology can save both time and costs in real terms.

Speech recognition and digital dictation software has a positive impact on NHS efficiency.  Savings made on printing and the distribution of patient letters alone can ensure a return on investment for NHS Boards and Trusts.

For more information on our digital dictation and speech recognition solutions, please visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

NHS funding ‘cut in real terms’

The BBC reported that NHS funding in Scotland is falling in real terms despite the government putting more cash into services, Audit Scotland has revealed.

NHS spending north of the border, which amounts to more than £11bn, makes up about a third of the annual Scottish budget and the health service is facing increasing pressure, with spending cuts kicking in and the cost of treating patients and medicine increasing.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Jackson Carlaw said an alarming number of nursing and midwife staff reductions had been made. He said: “We must always ensure that our NHS provides the best possible care to the patients of Scotland but reducing the number of key frontline staff will undoubtedly have a negative effect.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alison McInnes said: “Budgets are tight right across the NHS but there is room to save money so it can be spent more effectively on frontline services. If we tackle issues like this now, we can free up valuable resources for the future and protect frontline staff and services.”

One way to initiate efficiency savings is to integrate digital dictation and speech recognition into administrative procedures.  Our Clinical Document Production application, WinVoicePro, has been developed to support the health service in solving money and time issues and enabling the NHS to achieve realistic savings, without impacting on frontline services.

For more information on our digital dictation and speech recognition products visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

UK ‘now short of 5,000 midwives’ as a result of NHS efficiency savings

The Daily Mail has report that the UK is ‘now short of 5,000 midwives’ as a result of NHS efficiency savings.

Retired obstetrician Lord Patel told ministers there is now a shortfall of 4,500 to 5,000 midwives in the United Kingdom with half of the workforce aged between 45 and 55. As a result, the drive to find £20 billion of efficiency savings in the NHS is threatening patient care as medical staff struggle to cope with frontline cuts, it was claimed.

Labour’s Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe added that cuts in nursing staff could have ‘disastrous consequences’ for patient care. She said: “Frontline nursing care is being severely threatened by the £20 billion efficiency savings target set for the NHS.”

This shortfall figure highlights the importance of making cuts in the right areas, without impacting on the service offered to patients – technology is a major way in which the NHS can meet efficiency targets set by the government. An example of technology that aids efficiency is digital dictation; the simple solution can increase productivity and save on costs through administration across the NHS.

Voice Technologies’ Clinical Document Production application, WinVoicePro, has been specifically designed to work at an administrative level, saving considerable time through the means of digital dictation and electronic transcription. By eliminating the need for analogue recordings, this enables healthcare targets and government budgets to be met through internal savings on typing, printing and distribution of patient letters.

For more information on the products Voice Technologies provide, please visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

An End to Data Security Leaks

Data security is a major issue in all areas of business, especially for organisations that have strict requirements for confidentiality of data. This is why it is so important to make sure that any technology used ensures that data security is never compromised.

ITPRO reported on the public sector data leaks and how central and local government in the UK has progressively tightened policies around data security, improved access controls, and invested in data loss prevention technologies.

Used by organisations across the public sector, healthcare and in the legal sector, digital dictation also offers a cost effective and efficient method of managing workload, but in addition to this, by capturing data as an audio file, the amount of sensitive data recorded on paper files is reduced, which helps to prevent the information being misplaced or stolen. Further to this, access to the data is restricted to appropriate personnel, with high level encryption employed to protect the information.

For more information on digital dictation visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

RCN and Ministers Row Over Frontline Cuts

The Guardian has reported that the Royal College of Nursing has been rowing with ministers after claiming that 56,000 doctors, nurses, midwives and other NHS staff have lost or are due to lose their jobs, despite David Cameron’s pledge to protect front line health workers from the brunt of the cuts.

Analysis by the Royal College of Nursing, says clinical posts make up 49% of the 56,058 job losses in the workforce, with nursing posts accounting for 34% of the jobs already lost or earmarked to be cut.

David Cameron and Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, have promised that frontline staff would be protected from the effects of £20bn in efficiency savings to the NHS being carried out over three years as part of efforts to reduce the national deficit.

One way to initiate efficiency savings without cutting frontline jobs is to integrate digital dictation and speech recognition into administrative procedures throughout the NHS.  Our Clinical Document Production application, WinVoicePro, has been developed to support the health service in solving money and time issues and enabling the NHS to achieve realistic savings.

For more information on our digital dictation and speech recognition products visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk

End of Ministerial Cabinet Red Box

The Telegraph has reported that the days of ministers lugging round heavy Red Boxes filled with official papers could finally be coming to an end. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, who is leading a drive to enhance technology use across the public sector, has indicated he wants to see them computerised.

Mr Maude insisted the British Government should be emulating Estonia, where paperless systems are already in place.

At Voice Technologies we believe that real efficiency can be achieved in the public sector in a variety of ways. Some of the key ways to revolutionise public sector services are through new innovative technology. Effective technology that is employed throughout the public sector can ensure that costs are saved and security is increased.

Both digital dictation and speech recognition can make a real difference to delivering improved public sector services – increasing efficiency and productivity, while delivering a return on investment within a matter of months, assisting with the savings that need to be made throughout the sector.

For more information on digital dictation and speech recognition visit www.voicetechnologies.co.uk